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UNC-Chapel Hill PSYC 101 - Unit Eight- Motivation and Emotion

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I. Theories of MotivationA. Introduction○ Motivation is the general term for the biological, emotional, cognitive, and social processes involved in starting, directing and maintaining behavior. There are several theories of motivation.○ Instinct Theory: Instincts are fixed action patterns that are not learned and occur in most members of a species. Animals display a number of fixed action patterns, for ie, bird migrations.○ Inspired by Darwin, early psychologists, led by William James listed human instincts, such as modesty, cleanliness, rivalry, and parental love.○ It soon fell out of favor because it lacked the ability to fully explain human motivation.B. Drive Reduction Theory○ This replaced instinct theory in the 1930s.○ Based on the concept of homeostasis, meaning the body seeks to maintain an equilibrium. The body creates a state of tension, known as a “drive”, if any of its needs are unmet.○ For ie, this theory states a person will drink H2O as a result of a drive for satisfying thirst and eat food as a result of a drive for satisfying hunger.○ It is used to explain motivated behaviors that have a clear biological basis, but it cannot account for all behaviors, such as the desire for a new cell phone.C. Arousal Theory○ State that humans and animals are innately curious and seek out complexity and novelty.○ The Yerkes-Dodson Rule states that an optimal level of psychological arousal helps performances. When arousal is low we get bored, too high, we get anxiety.○ People are thus motivated to seek a moderate level of stimulation that is neither too easy nor too difficult.D. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs○ Abraham Maslow created a hierarchy of needs that combines and prioritizes biological, psychological, and social needs.○ Maslow identified a progression of five needs, beginning with basic physiological and safety needs. Once these needs are met, the individual “move up” to high-level needs culminating with self-actualization.○ Physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.II. Hunger MotivationA. The Biological Basis of Hunger○ The hypothalamus regulates eating and drinking.○ Set-Point Theory: states that humans have a natural optimal body-fat level and the body attempts to stay at that level.B. Obesity○ ⅔ of Americans are obese. It’s not limited to adults. It contributes to disease. Most people are sedentary. Some people are genetically predisposed to obesity.C. Anorexia Nervosa○ Eating disorder characterized by a severe loss of weight resulting from self-imposed starvation. The vast majority are women.D. Bulimia Nervosa○ Eating disorder involving binge eating followed by vomiting, excessive exercise, or the use of laxatives. It is initially difficult to detect.III. Social MotivationA. Achievement Motivation: the drive to succeed, especially in competition with others○ Research studies by David McClelland show that individuals with a high need for achievement typically seek out tasks that are moderately difficult○ Achievement motivation is learned early in life, typically from parents. Highly motivated people are willing to work long hours, overcome obstacles, and delay gratification to focus on a goal.○ Achievement motivation takes different forms in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. For ie, the United States vs. China’s cultureB. Extrinsic Motivation: based upon external rewards or threats of punishment. For ie, students who work for grades, athletes who work to play.○ When extrinsic rewards and punishments are removed, behavior often falls to a lower level. For ie, after getting an acceptance letter from college their high school grades dropC. Intrinsic Motivation: based on personal enjoyment of a task or activity. For ie, artists who paint for enjoyment, runners who strive to better their time.D. Overjustification: Research indicates that extrinsic motivation will displace a person’s internal motivation. For ie, can be seen when a musician makes the transition from being an amateur to a professional recording artist. As the motivation changed from intrinsic to extrinsic, the performer shows decreased interest and views making music as a job.IV. The Neuroscience of EmotionA. The Brain○ The limbic system comprises a group of brain structures involved in emotions, memories, and basic motivational drives such as hunger, thirst, and sex.○ The amygdala is part of the limbic system. Several studies have shown that the amygdala plays a key role in emotional responses, especially fear.B. The Automatic Nervous System○ Sympathetic Nervous System: arouses the body and gets it ready for fight-or-flight○ Parasympathetic Nervous System: calms the bodyC. Polygraph Testing: It measures the autonomic nervous system responses, such as heart and breathing rates. It records arousal patterns associated with anxiety and fear, not whether someone is actually lying. Polygraph tests are not infallible.V. Emotional ExpressionA. Facial Expressions and Emotions○ Experiment was done by Paul Ekman. Ekman believed that “facial language” is innate and thus universal.○ He argued that humans exhibit six basic emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. Each emotion is expressed by specific facial expressions.B. Display Rules○ While facial expressions for basic emotions are universal, cultural display rules influence how and when emotional responses are displayed. For ie, when given a grisly film to watch, American students showed disgust when the scientist was in the room with them. Japanese students merely smiled.VI. Theories of EmotionsA. Introduction○ A Continuing Debate: Psychologists agree that emotions include physiological, cognitive, and behavioral components. But they do disagree on how we become emotional and which component of emotion received the most emphasis.B. James-Lange Theory of Emotion○ Suggests emotions follow a 3-part sequence: 1. You perceive a stimulus2. The stimulus triggers physiological arousal3. You interpret the bodily changes as a specific emotionsFor ie, you interpret your pounding heart and trembling as being afraid.○ In this theory, arousal immediately precedes emotion. For ie, “We feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble”C. The Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory of Emotion○ They propose that our emotions depend on the physical arousal and the cognitive labeling of that arousal. The two factors


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UNC-Chapel Hill PSYC 101 - Unit Eight- Motivation and Emotion

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